Lack of Tornadoes

February 2010 will go down in the record books not only for the snow it brought to some locations, but also for the lack of severe weather in parts of the south.  There were no tornadoes reported in the United States and assuming that there will be no late reports, it will be the first time since 1950 that February has gone by without seeing a tornado.  So what does this tell us about the upcoming severe weather season and long-term trends?  According to Harold Brooks, research meteorologist with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, "Somewhere between little and nothing at all."  Even though years that have started off on the slow side have ended up with average or below tornadoes, there have been exceptions and people still need to be aware.